Knitting Alpacas

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Bookish Thursday

Found a bookish meme at Paul's blog. This is similar to another that I have seen recently. The instructions are to pickup the nearest book, turn to page 123 and find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next three sentences.

From my nearest book. "We cannot control a bodily function unless we are aware of it. Differentiated breathing also awakens various states of consciousness and teaches us about the relationship between breath and mind. It is likely that differentiated breathing is a form of neurological reeducation."

The instructions do not say to reveal what book it is from but I will tell you that mine is from The Way of Qigong, The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing by Kenneth S. Cohen.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Semi-FO

A while back I purchased two ounces of merino/silk roving dyed by the very talented Nancy Finn in the copper slate colorway. I held on to it forever trying to work up the courage to actually spin it. Finally one day I took a deep breath and sat down at the wheel and started spinning. This stuff is absolutely awesome to spin. I loved it! The luminosity. The colors. The way it glides through the fingers. It's all great. Parts are spun too loosely and parts are poorly plied. But it's still beautiful. I tried several different projects before I found the horseshoe lace washcloth pattern in Knitter's Stash. I adapted the pattern using three repeats across for a narrow scarf. The 270 yards made a 37" scarf before blocking. I haven't blocked it yet so don't know what the finished length will be. The colors are difficult to photograph but the picture here is pretty close. Being a beginning lace knitter I can recommend horseshoe lace as a good lace pattern to start out with.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

I'm Not a Hat Person

I look like a total dork in a hat but I need something to keep my ears from freezing off my head on winter evenings when I go out to feed and check the alpacas. I usually wear a jacket with a hood but the wind goes right through the hood. When I saw a pattern for a hat with a cabled band I knew I had found a solution. Just knit the band and forget about the crown of the hat. Using some of the leftover Popsicle Alpaca/Merino I cast on 17 stitches on size 10 1/2 dpns. I worked a nine stitch braided cable bordered by 2k, 2p stitches on both sides. I knit until it almost fit around my head and grafted the two ends together. It's perfect. Now my ears will stay toasty warm while doing those evening chores in the barn.

Queen Nefertiti shows off the colorful chunky cables. I was impatient to photograph the headband while I waited for DH to get home and coerced her to pose for me.

Once he got home he took a pic of me wearing it. I love the way it fits and covers my ears just so. This project takes just a few short hours to knit. It would be a great Sunday afternoon quick knit. Or knit one up on Friday night for that Saturday trek through the woods.

More of these will be on my Christmas knitting list. My DIL is about to spend her first winter in Chicago so I know I'll knit one for her. (She doesn't know about the blog so there's no danger of her reading this.)

See the spindle of cotton thread there behind me? It came out of one of the local cotton mills and is about 65 or 70 years old. Our Grandparents (and our parents when they were very young) worked in the mills and I keep this as a symbol of how they struggled to put food on the table for their families. Fiber is in my blood.

MeMeMeMe

I had planned to post pictures of an FO today but the pictures are at home on my laptop. I forgot to copy them to my flash drive last night. So, instead I will bore you with this meme that has been floating around blogland lately.I bolded what I have done.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink02. Swam with wild dolphins03. Climbed a mountain04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive05. Been inside the Great Pyramid06. Held a tarantula07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone08. Said 'I love you' and meant it09. Hugged a tree10. Bungee jumped11. Visited Paris12. Watched a lightning storm at sea13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise14. Saw the Northern Lights15. Gone to a huge sports game16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables 18. Touched an iceberg19. Slept under the stars20. Changed a baby's diaper21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon22. Watched a meteor shower23. Gotten drunk on champagne24. Given more than you can afford to charity25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment27. Had a food fight28. Bet on a winning horse29. Asked out a stranger30. Had a snowball fight31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can32. Held a lamb33. Seen a total eclipse34. Ridden a roller coaster35. Hit a home run36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking37. Adopted an accent for an entire day38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment39. Had two hard drives for your computer40. Visited all 50 states41. Taken care of someone who was drunk42. Had amazing friends43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country44. Watched wild whales45. Stolen a sign46. Backpacked in Europe47. Taken a road-trip48. Gone rock climbing49. Midnight walk on the beach50. Gone sky diving51. Visited Ireland52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them54. Visited Japan55. Milked a cow56. Alphabetized your cd's57. Pretended to be a superhero58. Sung karaoke59. Lounged around in bed all day60. Posed nude in front of strangers61. Gone scuba diving62. Kissed in the rain63. Played in the mud64. Played in the rain65. Gone to a drive-in theater66. Visited the Great Wall of China67. Started a business68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken69. Toured ancient sites70. Taken a martial arts class71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight72. Gotten married73. Been in a movie74. Crashed a party75. Gotten divorced76. Gone without food for 5 days77. Made cookies from scratch78. Won first prize in a costume contest79. Ridden a gondola in Venice80. Gotten a tattoo81. Rafted the Snake River (I would love to do this. I rafted the Chatooga back in the 80's and loved it. It is the river that the movie Deliverance was filmed on.)82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"83. Got flowers for no reason84. Performed on stage85. Been to Las Vegas86. Recorded music87. Eaten shark88. Had a one-night stand89. Gone to Thailand90. Bought a house91. Been in a combat zone92. Buried one of your parents93. Been on a cruise ship94. Spoken more than one language fluently95. Performed in Rocky Horror.96. Raised children97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour98. Created and named your own constellation of stars99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking103. Had plastic surgery104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived105. Wrote articles for a large publication106. Lost over 100 pounds107. Held someone while they were having a flashback108. Piloted an airplane109. Petted a stingray110. Broken someone's heart111. Helped an animal give birth112. Won money on a T.V. game show113. Broken a bone114. Gone on an African photo safari115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild118. Ridden a horse119. Had major surgery120. Had a snake as a pet121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states124. Visited all 7 continents125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days126. Eaten kangaroo meat127. Eaten sushi128. Had your picture in the newspaper129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about130. Gone back to school131. Parasailed132. Petted a cockroach133. Eaten fried green tomatoes134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey 135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating137. Skipped all your school reunions138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language139. Been elected to public office140. Written your own computer language141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream (every day)142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care143. Built your own PC from parts144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you145. Had a booth at a street fair146: Dyed your hair147: Been a DJ148: Shaved your head149: Caused a car accident150: Saved someone's life

Friday, August 04, 2006

FO

Today I actually have an FO to post. Last year after I started making the fingerless mittens a coworker commented that these would be perfect for her sister. She works in the heavy freight division of a well known package delivery company and is frequently in a cold warehouse. I knit these up from my own pattern using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes yarn. I just happened to have the perfect package delivery company color in my stash. My friend plans to give them to her sister on her birthday. I hope she likes them.

When it's too hot to chase mice there's only one thing left to do......

Rambling Rose

Since my last post I have thought often that I should write a post but the words just wouldn't come. I'm not so sure that they will flow today but I'm in the mood to give it a go.

So, let the rambling begin.

Our third cria, Miss Rosevelt (Rose), was born the end of June and she is a little doll. She and Jaxson are best buds. I think Lincoln feels left out of the fun sometimes. Here's a short video of one of her running games.

The three moms have been rebred for next year so now we are in the "hope the breeding took" mode. Every five days we will spit test to see if they are pregnant. If pregnant the female will literally spit at the male and run from him. If not pregnant she will cush (lay on her belly with her legs underneath) and allow the male to breed her. We use our less aggresive male for testing; if he gets spit at he will walk away. The other male has a hard time taking no for an answer and will continue to chase. In this heat that is not healthy for the alpacas or the humans that are trying to seperate them. Later we will do progesterone test and possibly ultrasound to verify pregnancy. All this testing helps pass the time while we wait nearly a year for the next group of babies. I love the babies. I'll go out to the pasture in the evening just to watch them play. Very entertaining.

I have several WIP's going right now but don't have pictures of any of them. There are two pair of socks, a lace scarf, a cabled head band, miniture raglan sweaters, and fingerless mittens. The cabled head band is the current project and should be finished in short order. I'm using the leftover merino/alpaca Popsicle hand dyed yarn that I made fingerless mittens out of a while back (pictured here) . I learned a new technique for this project. I needed a provisional cast-on so that the two ends could be grafted together. Instead of using waste yarn I used a circular needle in the same size that I'm knitting with. (video of cast-on here. the circular needle part is at the end.) When it comes time to graft I won't have to fiddle with taking out the waste yarn and putting the stitches on a needle. I'll just slide the circular needle into position and commence to grafting. The challenge will be determining how to graft the cable and purl stitches so they look good. I've only ever grafted plain stocking stitch before. Pictures will be posted when blogger gets in a better mood.

DH has been helping me skirt fleeces in preparation for shipping to the mill. Well he was. We have put this task off until the humidity and heat settle down a bit. There is no joy in handling fleece, no matter how beautiful, when it's a hundred degrees with humidiy over 60%. Yuck. He and I really haven't been doing much of anything recently. He had neck surgery the end of July and still isn't allowed to do much. Evidently it takes a long time for bone to fuse. He already has relief from the numbness and tingling that he was having on the right side of his face and neck and right arm. His arm would go completely dead at night and prevented him from getting a good nights sleep. We have both had colds and mine is still lingering. Then, last week I came down with a nasty stomach flu. When it was all over I had lost five pounds. I would rather have the five pounds than to go through that. Hubby was a great nurse. He took off work early to bring me medicine and gatorade. He kept my glass filled and checked on me every few minutes. Guess I'll keep him.